U.S. patent number 11,018,218 [Application Number 16/583,133] was granted by the patent office on 2021-05-25 for narrow gap device with parallel releasing structure.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.. The grantee listed for this patent is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Kuei-Sung Chang, Te-Hao Lee.
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United States Patent |
11,018,218 |
Chang , et al. |
May 25, 2021 |
Narrow gap device with parallel releasing structure
Abstract
The present disclosure, in some embodiments, relates to a method
of semiconductor processing. The method may be performed by etching
a substrate to define a trench within the substrate. A sacrificial
material is formed within the trench. The sacrificial material has
an exposed upper surface. A plurality of discontinuous openings are
formed to expose separate segments of a sidewall of the sacrificial
material. The plurality of discontinuous openings are separated by
non-zero distances along a length of the trench. An etching process
is performed to simultaneously etch the exposed upper surface and
the sidewall of the sacrificial material.
Inventors: |
Chang; Kuei-Sung (Kaohsiung,
TW), Lee; Te-Hao (Hsinchu, TW) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. |
Hsin-Chu |
N/A |
TW |
|
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Assignee: |
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Co., Ltd. (Hsinchu, TW)
|
Family
ID: |
1000005576836 |
Appl.
No.: |
16/583,133 |
Filed: |
September 25, 2019 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20200020763 A1 |
Jan 16, 2020 |
|
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
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13921273 |
Jun 19, 2013 |
10497776 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L
29/06 (20130101); B81C 1/00619 (20130101); H01L
21/7813 (20130101); B81B 2203/033 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01L
29/06 (20060101); B81C 1/00 (20060101); H01L
21/78 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Other References
Non-Final Office Action dated Mar. 20, 2015 for U.S. Appl. No.
13/921,273. cited by applicant .
Final Office Action dated Sep. 30, 2015 for U.S. Appl. No.
13/921,273. cited by applicant .
Non-Final Office Action dated Apr. 21, 2016 for U.S. Appl. No.
13/921,273. cited by applicant .
Final Office Action dated Nov. 3, 2016 for U.S. Appl. No.
13/921,273. cited by applicant .
Notice of Allowance dated Jul. 10, 2019 for U.S. Appl. No.
13/921,273. cited by applicant .
Non-Final Office Action dated Jul. 9, 2020 for U.S. Appl. No.
16/583,152. cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Pizarro; Marcos D.
Assistant Examiner: Brasfield; Quinton A
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Eschweiler & Potashnik, LLC
Parent Case Text
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This Application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.
13/921,273, filed on Jun. 19, 2013, the contents of which are
hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of semiconductor process, comprising: etching an upper
surface of a substrate to form sidewalls of the substrate that
define a trench continuously extending along a first direction
within the substrate; forming a sacrificial material within the
trench, the sacrificial material having an exposed upper surface;
forming a plurality of discontinuous openings extending outward
from the trench, past one or more of the sidewalls of the substrate
that define the trench, along a second direction that is
perpendicular to the first direction and exposing separate segments
of a side of the sacrificial material within the trench, wherein
the trench continuously extends in the first direction past the
plurality of discontinuous openings, wherein the first direction
and the second direction are parallel to the upper surface of the
substrate, and wherein the plurality of discontinuous openings are
separated by non-zero distances along the first direction; and
performing an etching process to simultaneously etch the exposed
upper surface and a sidewall of the sacrificial material.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: forming a structure
material within the trench; and selectively removing a part of the
structure material from within the trench to define the plurality
of discontinuous openings.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the sacrificial material and the
structure material completely fill the trench before selectively
removing the part of the structure material from within the trench;
and wherein the structure material remains over an upper surface of
the substrate after selectively removing the part of the structure
material from within the trench.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of discontinuous
openings extend along the second direction from within the trench
to past one of the sidewalls of the substrate defining the
trench.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: forming a first
dielectric layer over a first semiconductor substrate; and forming
a second semiconductor substrate over the first dielectric layer to
form the substrate, wherein the trench is defined by sidewalls of
the second semiconductor substrate and vertically extends from a
top of the second semiconductor substrate to the first dielectric
layer; forming a structure material within the trench and directly
between the sidewalls of the second semiconductor substrate; and
selectively removing the structure material from an upper surface
of the first dielectric layer and from the sidewall of the
sacrificial material to define the plurality of discontinuous
openings.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the trench continuously extends
in opposing directions past the plurality of discontinuous
openings.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein as viewed from a top-view the
substrate comprises: a first sidewall defining a first side of the
trench; one or more second sidewalls extending in parallel to the
first sidewall and defining a second side of the trench; and a
plurality of third sidewalls that are perpendicular to the one or
more second sidewalls and that protrude outward from the second
side of the trench, wherein the plurality of third sidewalls define
the plurality of discontinuous openings, and wherein the first
sidewall continuously extends in opposing directions past the
plurality of discontinuous openings.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the trench extends in an unbroken
loop around a region of the substrate.
9. A method of semiconductor processing, comprising: selectively
etching a substrate to form a trench defined by sidewalls of the
substrate; forming a sacrificial material along the sidewalls of
the substrate defining the trench; forming a structure material
directly between the sidewalls of the substrate defining the
trench, the structure material covering a first sidewall and an
upper surface of the sacrificial material; etching the structure
material to expose the upper surface and the first sidewall of the
sacrificial material; and simultaneously etching the upper surface
and the first sidewall of the sacrificial material.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein etching the structure material
forms a plurality of openings that expose discontinuous segments of
the first sidewall of the sacrificial material.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the structure material has a
vertically extending sidewall that is directly between the
sidewalls of the substrate defining the trench and that completely
covers an entirety of the first sidewall of the sacrificial
material.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein the sacrificial material
physically contacts an entirety of the first sidewall.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of openings are
respectively laterally separated from the substrate by the
sacrificial material on a first side and by the structure material
on an opposing second side.
14. The method of claim 10, wherein the substrate comprises a
substantially flat sidewall continuously extending past the
plurality of openings.
15. The method of claim 9, wherein the structure material
continuously extends from a second sidewall of the sacrificial
material to over the sacrificial material after etching the
structure material to expose the upper surface and the first
sidewall of the sacrificial material.
16. A method of semiconductor processing, comprising: forming a
trench within a substrate, the trench defined by a sidewall of the
substrate that continuously extends along a first direction;
forming a sacrificial material having a first side that contacts
the sidewall of the substrate defining the trench along an
interface, the sacrificial material having an exposed top surface;
forming a plurality of discontinuous openings exposing a plurality
of discontinuous segments of a second side of the sacrificial
material that opposes the first side, wherein the plurality of
discontinuous segments of the second side are separated by non-zero
distances along the first direction and wherein the interface
continuously extends past the plurality of discontinuous openings
along the first direction; and performing an etching process to
simultaneously etch the exposed top surface and the second side of
the sacrificial material.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the plurality of discontinuous
segments are separated along the first direction by sidewalls of a
material comprising a semiconductor material, the sidewalls of the
material comprising the semiconductor material extending in a
second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein the sacrificial material is
formed along the sidewall of the substrate defining the trench by a
thermal process.
19. The method of claim 16, further comprising: forming a structure
material within the trench, wherein the structure material covers
the plurality of discontinuous segments of the second side of the
sacrificial material; and selectively etching the structure
material to expose the plurality of discontinuous segments of the
second side.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein selectively etching the
structure material reduces a width of the structure material that
is within the trench.
Description
BACKGROUND
Etching is widely used in the fabrication of integrated chips.
Etching is a process by which material is removed from a
semiconductor substrate to provide a topology that is used to form
one or more layers on the semiconductor substrate. For example, to
form a metal interconnect layer, a dielectric material may be
formed over a semiconductor substrate and be selectively etched to
form a trench in which a metal is subsequently deposited.
Typically, etching is performed by selectively exposing a surface
of a semiconductor substrate to an etchant, which removes material
from the surface of the semiconductor substrate. The etchant may
comprise particles that react with an exposed surface of the
semiconductor substrate. For example, a dry etchant may comprise
energized particles which collide with an exposed surface of a
semiconductor substrate to dislodge atoms from the exposed
surface.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates some embodiments of a semiconductor substrate
having a parallel releasing structure configured to improve etching
capabilities of a narrow gap.
FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart of some embodiments of a method of
etching a narrow gap using a parallel releasing structure.
FIGS. 3A-3C illustrate some embodiments of a semiconductor
substrate upon which a method of etching a narrow gap using a
parallel releasing structure is enacted, according to the method of
FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of some embodiments of a method of
etching a narrow gap device having a parallel releasing
structure.
FIGS. 5-12 illustrate some embodiments of a semiconductor substrate
upon which a method of etching a narrow gap using a parallel
releasing structure is enacted, according to the method of FIG.
4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The description herein is made with reference to the drawings,
wherein like reference numerals are generally utilized to refer to
like elements throughout, and wherein the various structures are
not necessarily drawn to scale. In the following description, for
purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in
order to facilitate understanding. It will be appreciated that the
details of the figures are not intended to limit the disclosure,
but rather are non-limiting embodiments. For example, it may be
evident, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art, that one or
more aspects described herein may be practiced with a lesser degree
of these specific details. In other instances, known structures and
devices are shown in block diagram form to facilitate
understanding.
As semiconductor processes advance, semiconductor devices may be
formed having increasingly diverse topologies. Narrow gaps (e.g.,
gaps having a width of between 10 nm and 10 microns) are a common
surface topology that is present in many semiconductor devices. For
example, MEMS (microelectromechanical) devices, CMOS (complimentary
metal-oxide-semiconductor) devices, or any other semiconductor
devices may be formed using a narrow gap filled with a sacrificial
layer that is subsequently removed.
Since etching is performed by reacting an etchant with an exposed
surface of a semiconductor substrate, a rate of etching achievable
by an etching process for a narrow gap is limited to a rate that
material can be removed in one direction upon which an etchant can
enter into the narrow gap. Therefore, as feature sizes are reduced,
the etching rate of a narrow gap decreases (increasing processing
time) since less etchant can enter into the narrow gap. The low
etching rate makes etching a large thickness of material (e.g.,
microns) from a narrow gap a time consuming process that slows
fabrication of a semiconductor device and thereby increases an
associated cost of the device.
Accordingly, the present disclosure relates to a method of etching
a narrow gap using one or more parallel releasing structures to
improve etching performance, and an associated apparatus. In some
embodiments, the method comprises providing a semiconductor
substrate with a narrow gap with a sacrificial material having an
exposed surface. One or more parallel releasing structures are
formed within the semiconductor substrate at positions that abut
the narrow gap. An etching process is then performed to
simultaneously remove the sacrificial material from the narrow gap
along a first direction from the exposed surface and a second
direction from the one or more parallel releasing structures. By
simultaneously etching the sacrificial material from both the
direction of the exposed surface and from the direction of the one
or more parallel releasing structures, the sacrificial material is
removed in less time, since the etch is not limited by a size of
the narrow gap.
FIG. 1 illustrates a top-view 100 and a cross-sectional view 108 of
some embodiments of a semiconductor substrate 102 having one or
more parallel releasing structures 106 configured to improve
etching capabilities of a narrow gap 104 within the semiconductor
substrate 102.
The semiconductor substrate 102 has an etching region comprising a
narrow gap 104 connected to one or more parallel releasing
structures 106. The narrow gap 104 is configured to contain a
sacrificial material (e.g., SiO.sub.2) that is to be subsequently
removed from the narrow gap 104 by a selective etching process. In
some embodiments, the narrow gap 104 may be part of a semiconductor
device. For example, the narrow gap 104 may be part of a MEMS
(microelectromechanical systems) device, a CMOS (Complementary
metal-oxide-semiconductor) device, a high-density capacitor for
DRAM, or any other semiconductor device having a narrow gap which
is filled with a sacrificial layer to be subsequently removed. The
narrow gap 104 may have a width w that is in a range of between
approximately 10 nanometers and approximately 10 microns.
The one or more parallel releasing structures 106 extend within the
semiconductor substrate 102, from the top surface 110 of the
semiconductor substrate, to form depressions (i.e., trenches or
holes) disposed within the semiconductor substrate 102. The one or
more parallel releasing structures 106 abut the narrow gap 104.
Since the one or more parallel releasing structures 106 abut the
narrow gap 104, the one or more parallel releasing structures 106
provide for an opening along a side of the narrow gap 104 into
which an etchant can enter, thereby allowing for the sacrificial
material within the narrow gap 104 to be simultaneously etched from
multiple directions. For example, in some embodiments, a
sacrificial material may be etched along a first direction 112a
(e.g., using etchant that contacts the sacrificial material from
above the semiconductor substrate 102) and also along a second
direction 112b (e.g., using etchant that contacts the sacrificial
material from a parallel releasing structure), perpendicular to the
first direction 112a. By simultaneously etching sacrificial
material within the narrow gap in multiple directions, the time
that an etchant takes to remove the sacrificial material can be
reduced.
FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart of some embodiments of a method 200
of etching a narrow gap within a semiconductor device using one or
more parallel releasing structures.
At 202, a semiconductor substrate having a narrow gap comprising a
sacrificial material is provided. The narrow gap has an exposed
surface parallel to a top surface of the semiconductor
substrate.
At 204, one or more parallel releasing structures are formed within
the semiconductor substrate at positions that abut the narrow gap.
The one or more parallel releasing structures comprise depressions
(i.e., trenches or holes) that extend from the top surface of the
semiconductor substrate to a position within the semiconductor
substrate.
At 206, an etching process is performed to simultaneously remove
the sacrificial material from the narrow gap along multiple
directions. For example, the semiconductor substrate may be
selectively etched to remove the sacrificial material from a first
direction along the exposed surface and from a second direction
along a surface of the narrow gap abutting the one or more parallel
releasing structures.
FIGS. 3A-3C illustrate some embodiments of an exemplary
semiconductor substrate, whereon a method of etching according to
method 200 is implemented. Although FIGS. 3A-3C are described in
relation to method 200, it will be appreciated that the structures
disclosed in FIGS. 3A-3C are not limited to such a method.
FIG. 3A illustrates some embodiments of a semiconductor substrate
302 corresponding to act 202. FIG. 3A illustrates a top-view 300 of
the semiconductor substrate 302 and a cross-sectional view 306
extending along a cross-sectional line 308 passing through a narrow
gap 104 comprising a sacrificial material 304.
The semiconductor substrate 302 may comprise any type of
semiconductor body 310 (e.g., silicon, silicon-germanium,
silicon-on-insulator) such as a semiconductor wafer and/or one or
more die on a wafer, as well as any other type of semiconductor
and/or epitaxial layers associated therewith. In some embodiments,
the semiconductor substrate 302 may comprise a dielectric material
layer 312 (e.g., silicon oxide) embedded within the semiconductor
substrate 302. For example, the semiconductor substrate 302 may
comprise a semiconductor material layer 314 (e.g., an epitaxial
layer, a second semiconductor substrate, etc.) formed above the
dielectric material layer 312, so that the dielectric material
layer 312 is embedded within the semiconductor substrate 302 at a
position that is parallel to a top surface 303 of the semiconductor
substrate 302. In some embodiments, the semiconductor substrate 302
may also comprise one or more electrical conductive features to
transmit electrical signals or powers.
The narrow gap 104 is comprised within the semiconductor substrate
302. The narrow gap 104 comprises a sacrificial material 304 having
an exposed surface, which is parallel to the top surface 303 of the
semiconductor substrate. In some embodiments, the narrow gap 104
may extend from a top surface 303 of the semiconductor substrate
302 to the underlying dielectric material layer 312.
FIG. 3B illustrates some embodiments of a semiconductor substrate
corresponding to act 204. FIG. 3B illustrates a top-view 316 of the
semiconductor substrate 302 and a cross-sectional view 318
extending along a cross-sectional line 308 passing through the
narrow gap 104 and first and second parallel releasing structures,
106a and 106b.
The first and second parallel releasing structures, 106a and 106b,
are formed within the semiconductor substrate 302 at positions that
abut the narrow gap 104. In some embodiments, the first and second
parallel releasing structures, 106a and 106b, may extend from the
top surface 303 of the semiconductor substrate 302 to a top of the
dielectric material layer 312. In other embodiments, the first and
second parallel releasing structures, 106a and 106b, may extend
from the top surface 303 of the semiconductor substrate 302 to a
bottom of the dielectric material layer 312. In yet other
embodiments, the first and second parallel releasing structures,
106a and 106b, may extend from the top surface 303 of the
semiconductor substrate 302 to an alternative position within the
semiconductor substrate 302 (e.g. to a bottom of the sacrificial
material 304). In some embodiments, the first and second parallel
releasing structures, 106a and 106b, are formed by selectively
etching the semiconductor substrate 302 with a highly anisotropic
etchant.
FIG. 3C illustrates some embodiments of a semiconductor substrate
corresponding to act 206. FIG. 3C illustrates a top-view 320 of the
semiconductor substrate 302 and a cross-sectional view 322
extending along a cross-sectional line 308.
As shown in top-view 320 and cross-sectional view 322, an etching
process is performed to selectively etch the semiconductor
substrate 302, using etchant 324, to simultaneously remove
sacrificial material 304 from the narrow gap 104 along a first
direction 112a and a second direction 112b. The etchant 324 may
comprise a wet etchant, a vapor etchant, or a dry etchant. The
first direction 112a is normal to the exposure surface of the
narrow gap 104 (i.e., using etchant that contacts a top surface of
the sacrificial material 304). The second direction 112b is normal
to a surface of the narrow gap 104 facing the parallel releasing
structure 106 (i.e. using etchant that contacts a side surface of
the sacrificial material 304). Simultaneously etching the
sacrificial material 304 along multiple directions reduces the time
that an etchant takes to remove the sacrificial material 304 from
the semiconductor substrate 302.
In some embodiments, the etching time used to remove the
sacrificial material 304 from the semiconductor substrate 302 can
be controlled by varying the size and/or pitch of the narrow gap
104 and the one or more parallel releasing structures 106. For
example, by increasing the size of the narrow gap 104 and/or the
one or more parallel releasing structures 106 the etching time used
to remove the sacrificial material 304 can be reduced since the
larger size of the narrow gap 104 and/or the one or more parallel
releasing structures 106 allows for more etchant to interact with
the sacrificial material 304.
FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of some alternative embodiments
of a method 400 for etching a narrow gap within a semiconductor
device comprising a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device
using one or more parallel releasing structures.
While the disclosed methods (e.g., methods 200 and 400) are
illustrated and described below as a series of acts or events, it
will be appreciated that the illustrated ordering of such acts or
events are not to be interpreted in a limiting sense. For example,
some acts may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with
other acts or events apart from those illustrated and/or described
herein. In addition, not all illustrated acts may be required to
implement one or more aspects or embodiments of the description
herein. Further, one or more of the acts depicted herein may be
carried out in one or more separate acts and/or phases.
At 402, a first semiconductor substrate is provided. In some
embodiments, the first semiconductor substrate comprises a
semiconductor wafer, such as a silicon wafer, for example.
At 404, a bonding layer is deposited onto the first semiconductor
substrate. The bonding layer comprises a layer that enables bonding
of a second semiconductor substrate onto the first semiconductor
substrate.
At 406, the second semiconductor substrate is bonded to the first
semiconductor substrate. The second semiconductor substrate is
bonded to the first semiconductor substrate by bringing the second
semiconductor substrate into contact with the first semiconductor
substrate at an interface comprising the bonding layer.
At 408, the second semiconductor substrate is selectively etched to
form a trench. The trench may extend from a top surface of the
semiconductor substrate to the underlying bonding layer.
At 410, a sacrificial material is formed onto sidewalls of the
trench. Forming the sacrificial material onto sidewalls of the
trench results in the formation of a narrow gap comprising the
sacrificial material. Formation of the sacrificial material onto
side walls of the trench may be performed by depositing one or more
sacrificial layers of silicon dioxide using a thermal oxidization
process.
At 412, the trench is filled with a structure material. In some
embodiments, the structure material may comprise polysilicon.
At 414, the structure material is selectively etched to form one or
more parallel releasing structures that expose the sacrificial
material on at least one of the side walls of the trench. For
example, in some embodiments the structure material may be
selectively etched to form a parallel releasing structure
comprising a depression (i.e., a hole or a trench) that exposes the
sacrificial material on one sidewall of the trench.
At 416, the sacrificial material is removed from the narrow gap by
simultaneously etching the sacrificial material along multiple
directions. In various embodiments, the sacrificial material may be
selectively etched using a wet etch or a dry etch (e.g., a vapor
etch, a plasma etch, etc.). Since the parallel releasing structures
expose a sidewall of the sacrificial material, the etching
simultaneously removes the sacrificial material along multiple
directions.
FIGS. 5-12 illustrate some embodiments of an exemplary
semiconductor substrate, whereon a method of etching according to
method 400 is implemented. Although FIGS. 5-12 are described in
relation to method 400, it will be appreciated that the structures
disclosed in FIGS. 5-12 are not limited to such a method, but
instead may stand alone as a structure.
FIG. 5 illustrates some embodiments of a first semiconductor
substrate 502 corresponding to act 402. FIG. 5 illustrates a
top-view 504 of the first semiconductor substrate 502 and a
cross-sectional view 500 extending along a cross-sectional line
506. In some embodiments, the first semiconductor substrate 502
comprises a semiconductor wafer, such as a silicon wafer, for
example.
FIG. 6 illustrates some embodiments of a cross-sectional view 600
and a top-view 604 corresponding to act 404. As shown, a bonding
layer 602 is formed over the first semiconductor substrate 502. The
bonding layer 602 may comprise silicon oxide. In some embodiments,
the bonding layer 602 may be formed by a thermal process. In other
embodiments, the bonding layer 602 may be formed onto the
semiconductor substrate 502 by way of a deposition technique (e.g.,
chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, etc.) or an
epitaxial growth.
FIG. 7 illustrates some embodiments of a cross-sectional view 700
and a top-view 704 corresponding to act 406. As shown, a second
semiconductor substrate 702 is bonded to the first semiconductor
substrate 502 by bringing the second semiconductor substrate 702
into contact with the first semiconductor substrate 502 at an
interface comprising the bonding layer 602. In some embodiments,
the second semiconductor substrate 702 (e.g., a silicon wafer) may
be bonded to the first semiconductor substrate 502 by way of a
fusion bonding process that bonds the first and second
semiconductor substrates, 502 and 702, together using a bonding
layer 602 comprising an oxide material. In other embodiments,
alternative bonding processes may be used.
FIG. 8 illustrates some embodiments of a cross-sectional view 800
and a top-view 804 corresponding to act 408. As shown, the second
semiconductor 702 is selectively etched to form a trench 802 that
extends through the second semiconductor substrate 702 to the
bonding layer 602. In some embodiments, the trench 802 is formed by
a deep reactive ion etching process. The deep reactive ion etching
process is a highly anisotropic etch that forms steep-sided holes
and trenches with high aspect ratios.
FIG. 9 illustrates some embodiments of a cross-sectional view 900
and a top-view 904 corresponding to act 410. As shown, a
sacrificial material 902 is formed onto side walls of the trench
802, resulting in narrow gaps 104 comprising the sacrificial
material 902. The narrow gaps 104 may have a width that is between
10 nm and 10 microns. Formation of the sacrificial material 902
onto the side wall of the trench 802 may be performed by depositing
one or more layers of silicon dioxide (e.g., SiO.sub.2) using a
thermal oxidization process.
FIG. 10 illustrates some embodiments of a cross-sectional view 1000
and a top-view 1004 corresponding to act 412. As shown, the trench
802 is filled with a structure material 1002 (e.g., polysilicon).
The structure material 1002 may be formed by way of a deposition
technique (e.g., chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor
deposition, etc.) or an epitaxial growth.
FIG. 11A illustrates some embodiments of a cross-sectional view
1100 and a top-view 1106 corresponding to act 414. As shown, the
structure material 1002 is selectively etched, by an etchant 1104.
The etchant 1104 removes the structure material 1002 to form one or
more parallel releasing structures 106 that expose at least one
sidewall of the sacrificial material 902. The etchant 1104 also
removes the structure material 1002 from above the sacrificial
material 902 to form an exposed top surface of the sacrificial
material 902 within the narrow gap 104.
FIG. 11B illustrates a three-dimensional view 1108 corresponding to
act 414. As shown in the three-dimensional view 1108, the one or
more parallel releasing structures 106 extend between portions of
the sacrificial material 902a and 902b. In some embodiments, to
increase etching within the one or more parallel releasing
structure 106 the portions of sacrificial material, 902a and 902b,
may be separated from one another, as shown.
FIG. 12 illustrates some embodiments of a cross-sectional view 1200
and a top-view 1204 corresponding to act 416. As shown in
cross-sectional view 1200a, the sacrificial material 902 is
selectively etched, by an etchant process using etchant 1202, to
simultaneously remove the sacrificial material 902 from the
semiconductor substrate along multiple directions. For example, the
etchant 1202 simultaneously removes the sacrificial material 902
along a first direction 112a and along a second direction 112b,
parallel to the first direction 112a. As shown in cross-sectional
view 1200b, the etching process proceeds until the sacrificial
material 902 has been removed from the semiconductor substrate. In
various embodiments, the etchant 1202 may comprise a wet etchant, a
vapor etchant, or a dry etchant. For example, in some embodiments,
the etchant 1202 may comprise a wet etchant or a vapor etchant
comprising hydrogen fluoride (HF). In other embodiments, the
etchant 1202 may comprise a dry etchant having an etching chemistry
comprising CF.sub.4 (Tetrafluoromethane), CHF.sub.3
(Trifluoromethane), or C.sub.2F.sub.6 (Hexafluoroethane), for
example.
It will be appreciated that while reference is made throughout this
document to exemplary structures in discussing aspects of
methodologies described herein, those methodologies are not to be
limited by the corresponding structures presented. Rather, the
methodologies and structures are to be considered independent of
one another and able to stand alone and be practiced without regard
to any of the particular aspects depicted in the FIGS.
Also, equivalent alterations and/or modifications may occur to one
of ordinary skill in the art based upon a reading and/or
understanding of the specification and annexed drawings. The
disclosure herein includes all such modifications and alterations
and is generally not intended to be limited thereby. For example,
although the figures provided herein are illustrated and described
to have a particular doping type, it will be appreciated that
alternative doping types may be utilized as will be appreciated by
one of ordinary skill in the art.
In addition, while a particular feature or aspect may have been
disclosed with respect to one of several implementations, such
feature or aspect may be combined with one or more other features
and/or aspects of other implementations as may be desired.
Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "includes", "having",
"has", "with", and/or variants thereof are used herein, such terms
are intended to be inclusive in meaning--like "comprising." Also,
"exemplary" is merely meant to mean an example, rather than the
best. It is also to be appreciated that features, layers and/or
elements depicted herein are illustrated with particular dimensions
and/or orientations relative to one another for purposes of
simplicity and ease of understanding, and that the actual
dimensions and/or orientations may differ from that illustrated
herein.
Therefore, the present disclosure relates to a method of etching a
narrow gap using one or more parallel releasing structures to
improve etching performance, and an associated apparatus.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a method of
etching a narrow gap within a semiconductor substrate. The method
comprises providing a semiconductor substrate having a narrow gap
comprising a trench filled with a sacrificial material having an
exposed surface. The method further comprises forming one or more
parallel releasing structures within the semiconductor substrate,
wherein the one or more parallel releasing structures comprise
depressions within the semiconductor substrate located at positions
that abut the sacrificial material within the narrow gap. The
method further comprises performing an etching process to
simultaneously remove the sacrificial material from the narrow gap
along multiple directions.
In other embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a method of
etching a narrow gap within a semiconductor substrate. The method
comprises providing a first semiconductor substrate. The method
further comprises forming a bonding layer onto the first
semiconductor substrate and bonding a second semiconductor
substrate to the first semiconductor substrate at an interface
comprising the bonding layer. The method further comprises
selectively etching the second semiconductor substrate to form a
trench within the second semiconductor substrate and forming
sacrificial material onto sidewalls of the trench, resulting in a
narrow gap comprising the sacrificial material. The method further
comprises forming one or more parallel releasing structures within
the semiconductor substrate, wherein the one or more parallel
releasing structures comprise depressions within the semiconductor
substrate located at positions that abut the sacrificial material
within the narrow gap. The method further comprises removing the
sacrificial material from the narrow gap by simultaneously etching
the sacrificial material along multiple directions.
In other embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a
semiconductor device. The semiconductor device comprises a
semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor device further comprises
a narrow gap comprising a sacrificial material. The narrow gap
extends within the semiconductor substrate, to form trenches or
holes disposed within the semiconductor substrate. The
semiconductor device further comprises one or more parallel
releasing structures that extend within the semiconductor substrate
to form depressions within the semiconductor substrate that abut
the narrow gap. The one or more parallel releasing structures
provide for an opening along a side of the narrow gap into which an
etchant can enter, thereby allowing for the sacrificial material
within the narrow gap to be simultaneously etched from multiple
directions.
* * * * *